iPhone apps to help your business run smoothly

Being a small business owner means you are busy and you frequently have to wear many hats. If you're an iPhone owner, then you can relax, because there is relief.

When Apple opened up the iPhone and iPod Touch to third-party developers, the utility of the device went off the charts (let's face it, the iPhone was useful even before the app store became available). Now there are thousands of tools available to help you manage your business.

The only problem is, with so many choices, how do you decide which apps to take a chance on?

Please allow us to make a few recommendations. We use our iPhones on a daily basis and they help keep our business running lean and clean. Here are a couple of apps we found particularly useful:

Jobs: If you have a job or client that requires you to track your billable hours, this app is a must have. It can track several projects and features an easy-to-use interface. Simply tap once to start the clock, and tap again to stop. It allows you to edit time that has already been tracked, and add notes as needed. As of this writing, the app is on sale at $1.99.

Smart Recorder: When you're on the run (i.e. driving down the freeway) it's not always possible to jot down important ideas. This simple voice recording app allows you to record for just a few seconds to get that idea recorded, or an entire interview. Each recording is saved by date and time – allowing easy access to past notes. When you no longer need a recording, it's easy to delete it. The sound quality is excellent and the interface is very intuitive. $.99.

ToodleDo: Get organized with this app. It offers tons of flexibility and is easy to use. The best feature, however, is the app can be synced to to an account you set up on the Toodledo website. The app description also says it can be synced to other sites and even Outlook, but I have not tried this. As of this writing, the ToodleDo app weighs in at $2.99. However, given its functionality and syncing abilities, it's worth every penny of the price tag.

SplashID: Who out there doesn't have hundreds of passwords to remember? SplashID lets you securely organize all your passwords and carry them with you wherever you go in your iPhone. This app lets you sync your information with the SplashID Desktop software to make sure everything is backed up and secure. The full version $9.99, but there is a free Lite version with a 15 record limit.

Flight Control: While not a productivity app, we found this highly addictive game very useful for relieving stress and clearing out the brain cobwebs. The game is easy to get the hang of (use your finger to draw a path for the planes to land). Newer updates allows you to chose among different airports and now you can even play with a friend/business partner!

The above are just a sampling of apps that we have used on our iPhones to help us organize our business and get stuff done. There are many, many more apps out there and it all comes down to finding what works well for you.